Kinetic warfare is a term for

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

or other forms of directly-destructive warfare, to contrast "soft" force such as

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

, lawfare, sanctions,

cyberwarfare Cyberwarfare is the use of cyberattack, cyber attacks against an enemy State (polity), state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, ...

psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), has been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations ( MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...

information warfare Information warfare (IW) is the battlespace use and management of information and communication technology (ICT) in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent. It is different from ''cyberwarfare'' that attacks computers, software, and ...

, or other types of

warfare War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

. The term emerged as military jargon before it became used in wider circles at the turn of the millennium. "Kinetic military action" was used by White House aide Ben Rhodes on March 23, 2011 to describe U.S. military action in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

: In 2019, U.S.

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

used "kinetic operations" on a webpage about

Operation Inherent Resolve {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Operation Inherent Resolve , partof = the international military intervention against the Islamic State and the War on terror , image = , caption = U.S. Navy B ...

. It contained an interactive graphic titled "AIRSTRIKES IN IRAQ AND SYRIA" and captioned "... operations related to ISIL since kinetic operations started on Aug. 8, 2014 ...". On February 11, 2015, President Obama wrote in a letter to Congress that he wanted Congress to "authorize the use of U.S. forces gainst ISIL">ISIL.html" ;"title="gainst gainst ISILin ... [ground">ISIL">gainst_ISIL<_a>.html" ;"title="ISIL.html" ;"title="gainst ISIL">gainst ISIL">ISIL.html" ;"title="gainst ISIL">gainst ISILin ... [groundmissions to enable kinetic strikes". The phrase was not used in the draft resolution proposed to Congress. On December 2, 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry">United States Secretary of State">Secretary of State John Kerry spoke after attending a series of NATO meetings in Brussels, “There are various ways in which countries can contribute; they don’t necessarily have to be troops, engaged in kinetic action. There are medical facilities, there are other assets that can be deployed, there is intelligence gathering.” On February 13, 2024, the United States Government Accountability Office issued a report regarding the law of armed conflict in kinetic warfare, stating that "Since 2012, AFRICOM and CENTCOM have conducted thousands of kinetic strikes. Such strikes must comply with the law of war." Secretary

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...

among others used the words "kinetic" and "non-kinetic" often.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Military terminology Political communication

See also

References